For anybody fella. Only 4 strikers have scored 15+ this season. Aguero, Kane, Costa and Austin. Last season only 7 strikers managed 15 plus, season before that 8. Goal scoring strikers are become more and more scarce as the football evolves in this country. It's all about the midfield and wide forwards these days. Goals have to come from everywhere, it's why teams like us struggle, because neither midfield have clicked. If your midfield aren't delivering goals and assists you're in trouble in this league. The striker role is almost as dead as 442, it's a good center forward that's order of the day to bring your midfield and wide forwards into play.
It's not just the forwards midfield need to chip in ,also the supply has to be vastly improved crying out for a koren type midfielder , also a good right winger wouldn't go a miss assuming we keep elmo and play him at full back
Did he not shoot to score the only goal in our only win against Burnley in our last 9 meetings with them? Low shot that crept in near the post?
Sagbo is toast anyway whatever happens so we shall be down to just 3 strikers. We need 2 more minimum AND 3 IF Hernandez leaves.
We only had one true attacking playmaker in Ramirez but Bruce was only brave enough to play him in his proper position twice from memory. Diame is much more attacking than Tom and Jake, but Ideally out of 3 in midfield you'd have one defensive minded (Matic/Coquelin/Fernando etc.) which we don't have at all, one that can win the ball and go forwards (Diame/Yaya/Henderson etc.) and one that focuses primarily on attack (Ramirez/Coutinho/Oscar etc.). Our midfield is lacking so much. We need to get rid of Huddlestone and Livermore if we stay up.
The strikers have been a big problem. Nit because our best striker isn't good enough but because we've got no depth and no variety. With Jelavic out we're **** up front. Even with Jelavic we've got no pace. We still need to replace Shane Long. Whether we stay up or not we need at least two strikers. The creativity problem is just Bruce being scared to attack. The same squad created a lot more chances at the start of this season when we played a bit more attacking.
This is on point. I feared the day when Bruce stated he was going back to being solid at the back. Think it may have been the Newcastle game after dropping a 2-0 lead. The minute you start priortising defence first as a tactic you will most likely fall if you do it every game. The games against West Ham, Stoke (even with 10 men) Newcastle were great as were creating chances and putting established Prem teams to the sword. I support Bruce as I support the team but the minute he sacrificed creativity he started putting nails in our coffin And yes hindsight is a wonderful thing
Probably our major weakness is our inability to get and retain possession. We regularly only manage 40% or less per game. We are forced too often into emergency defensive situations. You can't play football without the ball.
Yet some people still think selling Shane Long was good business! It was terrible business - Long and Jelavić had a great understanding and were in my opinion as good a partnership as a team like us could hope for in the PL.
Hernandez isn't a strikers @rsehole and the sooner we get rid the better. Putting him (or Sagbo) in the side reduces us to 10 men straight away. If he stays he should be played on the wing as far away from the goal as possible with Aluko likewise (or in the reserves).
We can select the back 4 of a 4-4-2 and a back 3 and 2 wing-backs that can be relied upon at PL level, we have two decent strikers (if injuries can be put to bed), but we need 2 New strikers and a total overhaul of midfield. But before all of that, try getting a manager who knows his arse from his elbow.
Bruce brought in Ben Arfa, Ramirez, Snodgrass and Ince to provide more creativity and attacking threat from midfield. For different reasons (not down to Bruce) these players haven't contributed.
Apart from Snodgrass, how is it not down to Bruce? He's played all 3 of the others as a centre forward because he's too scared to play attacking players in midfield. As a result we have no creativity.
Again, when Steve Bruce chooses a team for the current match he has a team of advisers who have scouted the opposition as well as countless video's. Together, although Bruce has the last word, they determine a side who, in their opinion, will get a result. The criticism that he has come under from "Message Board Managers" who are always wiser AFTER the event is incredible. Not once has anyone come on the boards praising Bruce's brilliant strategy when we have won. When we win everyone praises the brilliance from individual players but when we lose it is all down to Bruce's team selection and tactics. We have had an unbelievable season for injuries and have literally played a team using "Band-Aid" solutions in an effort to get a result. We have no creativity because I don't believe we have fielded the same team in successive matches let alone alone consistently throughout the season.
I'm afraid that's not true, because we won against Palace and Liverpool, Bruce stuck with the same team against Arsenal and Burnley. How can the same players be right for a game against a footballing side like Arsenal and a battling team like Burnley? Not starting Jelavic against Burnley was a ridiculous thing to do in a game we needed to win, sticking with Livermore and Huddlestone after a terrible performance against Arsenal was also a dodgy decision, sticking with 3-5-2 at home against the worst team in the league was another poor decision. All those decisions were based on getting wins against Palace and Liverpool and showed no consideration for the differing circumstances and opposition.
